Mike felt a renewed wave of worry and anxiety wash over him when they finally entered the bullpen, ready to start on a new leg of research, hoping it would lead them closer to their killer before more people would have to die.
For once though, it wasn't the forethought of digging into the unknown that filled his weary body with dread, it was the sight of Jeannie sitting in his office, awaiting his return with her shoulders slumped, sad eyes tracing every nuance of the carpeted floor, a steaming cup of coffee next to her she seemed to have never touched.
It was a sight that made him hesitate for a moment, and for Steve to nearly walk into his back.
Using the precious few moments before his arrival could be noted, Mike tried to sort the words in his mind, part of him listening to his partner's advice about explaining his worries and having Jeannie do the same; the other part still trying to throttle his discomfort with the idea of having a child without being married, and the train wreck of a situation his only daughter could inadvertently walk into if things turned sour.
"By the looks of it, she wants to clear things up as much as you do…"
Steve had reappeared next to him, following his glance, one hand wrapped around his shoulders. It was an unusual gesture for the young Inspector who liked to keep his distance under any other circumstance; and as such, an even more meaningful move.
"It does look that way, doesn't it?"
After the way their latest drive to Sausalito had unfolded, the day was beginning to feel like a trip from the pot to the kettle when it came to upset women, each turn bringing on another wrath of female tempers flaring in Mike's general direction for one reason or another.
With a woeful sigh, he was about to step forward, when he felt Steve's hand holding him back.
"Why don't you let your…your bright and promising protégé do the research work this afternoon? I can give Gerry a call and get started on the stakeouts and phone records. I was even thinking of calling up Willis' old manager to see if I can get an angle from that side. Take the afternoon off and spend some time with Jeannie, while I've got everything here covered. Share some father-daughter bonding time. Talk things trough. Go out to eat. It's been a rough few days and you could use a break."
Warming up to the idea more and more by the second, Mike glanced over at his wise-beyond-his-years partner and smiled in deep gratitude.
"You're serious? Are you sure you can handle all the work by yourself?"
A wily grin was his answer, when Steve pointed back at the inner office.
"I'll be alright, don't you worry. Come on now, Lieutenant, you're gonna just stand here and watch or you gonna take the young lady out for lunch?"
With an amicable chuckle, Mike patted his partner on the back, for once unable to come up with the right words to express his gratitude.